Subwoofer & Bass Traps Questions

[BWLover]

I recently bought a B&W ASW610 subwoofer, and have some questions about it and acoustic, etc. It's quite power for how small it is (10" in a 1 cubic foot box). I played around with positions and what not and ended up putting it dead centre between the two speakers. Anywhere else sounded uneven. One thing I did notice is that when the phase switch is on 180° is sounds much more powerful in my listening chair. I have some acoustic treatment, but I don't have bass traps just yet. I have a basic understanding of room modes and how they effect low frequencies within my room. Am I correct in understanding that a particular low frequency will hit the back wall and bounce back and cancel out the next frequency coming out of the speakers? So if that is more or less correct, is that why the sub sounds more powerful at 180°? Because the sub is kind of doing the opposite of what the bass drivers on my speakers are doing, therefore making it more difficult for my room to cancel out the low frequencies? I am pretty sure this isn't the textbook way I should be doing things, in that my sub should be in phase with my speakers/set to 0°. I'm thinking that when I do get bass traps that I will be able to use the 0° setting and still have powerful bass, no? Also, if I were to treat two corners (instead of all 4) at once, should I do the corners behind the speakers or behind my chair? The bass is most powerful behind my chair vs behind the speakers. Also, I noticed that when music is on and I am upstairs above the listening room, that the floor vibrates the most above where the rear listening room wall is, vs behind the speakers, although behind the speakers is an exterior wall and I'm guessing more inert, is that normal? One other thing, the subwoofer cabinet vibrates quite a bit. The build quality of the cabinet could be better. I was thinking of putting 20-30 pounds of something on top of the sub. The sub is spiked, but I find its not heavy enough to really anchor itself to the floor. I did end up pushing down on the sub to get the spikes to dig into the floor a bit more (don't care about the floor in this room). But I've always understood that the cabinet should be as intert as possible as to let the drivers act like pistons. So would weighing it down help or just be a useless tweak?


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[TEK]

Regarding spikes and pushing the sub down, there are two different views.
The one you are inspiered by that think that it is vise to connect the sub to the room - typically using spikes.
The other are the ones that think that the sub should be disconnected from the floor. These will not use spikes but uses typically some soft damping.
I'm with the last one and think you would be better of by trying some vibration dampers.
You can find some really exspensive hifi dampers - or you can probably go into any store selling washing machine and get some of these:

[BWLover]

Regarding spikes and pushing the sub down, there are two different views.
The one you are inspiered by that think that it is vise to connect the sub to the room - typically using spikes.
The other are the ones that think that the sub should be disconnected from the floor. These will not use spikes but uses typically some soft damping.
I'm with the last one and think you would be better of by trying some vibration dampers.
You can find some really exspensive hifi dampers - or you can probably go into any store selling washing machine and get some of these:

I completely forgot about that other side of the coin. Maybe that is the route to go. One of the other reasons I dug the spikes into the floor, was that even with the spikes it just slid around on the floor like it had wheels.


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[madmac]

I completely forgot about that other side of the coin. Maybe that is the route to go. One of the other reasons I dug the spikes into the floor, was that even with the spikes it just slid around on the floor like it had wheels.


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"Just slid around the floor like it had wheels" !!??? I'm a little lost here. Just how loud are you playing this sub and your system as a whole??

[BWLover]

"Just slid around the floor like it had wheels" !!??? I'm a little lost here. Just how loud are you playing this sub and your system as a whole??

Oh hahaha, I should have been more descriptive. It slides around when it's off. When I built my dedicated two channel room I got my laminate flooring for free. I'm not sure if all laminate flooring is like this, but ya the spikes did not grab the floor well enough to keep the sub from moving. I believe this is because it doesn't weigh all that much. My 683's dug into the floor as soon as I put them down.


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[RoMan]

Hi BWLover. Congrats on your new sub. I have 2 SVS SB13 Ultras in a small living room. I find using the SoundPath Isolator feet does the job perfect for me and I've played many blurays at near reference levels and they absorb the vibrations perfectly. No rattling whatsoever just nice, clean deep bass at all times and stays in place. The fellas at SVS are very helpful as well and answer all your questions in a timely manner. Can even call them and let them know your requirements and they will help you. That has been my experience with them. Just an idea and suggestion. It's worth the money I must say and my neighbours still like me. :-)

RoMan

[Joawen]

I was successful with the old trick to put the sub in the sweetspot, then crawl around to hear where the sound is best and then place the sub there...